The well-known Gatling-type gun includes a housing in which is journalled a rotor mounting an annular array of gun barrels, e.g. five in number, and a bolt assembly for each gun barrel. Each bolt assembly includes a firing pin biased in a forward, firing direction by a mainspring. A cocking lever extends laterally from the firing pin. As the rotor is driven in rotation, the gun barrels and their respective bolt assemblies successively revolve through an angular firing position where a firing mechanism is stationed. Each bolt assembly is cammed forwardly to load an ammunition round into the breech of the associated gun barrel and to partially cock its firing pin, and then its cocking lever is cammed rearwardly just prior to arrival at the firing position to fully cock the firing pin against the force of a fully charged mainspring. As each bolt assembly achieves the firing position, its cocking lever is released, and the firing pin springs forwardly to impact the primer of an ammunition round, thereby firing off the round.
Since the firing of ammunition rounds in a Gatling-type gun is incident to rotation of the rotor, there is an inherent danger of accidentally firing off rounds as a result of inadvertent rotor rotation. There are also occasions when it is necessary to purposely rotate the rotor in order to clear the gun of live rounds. To prevent accidental firing of rounds during rotor rotation, the firing mechanisms are traditionally equipped with safing provisions to prevent unintended release of the cocking lever of a cocked firing pin. Examples of such safing provisions are disclosed in Tassie U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,927, Snyder et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,325, and Sawyer U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,359,928 and 4,494,439. The disclosures of these commonly assigned patents as specifically incorporated herein by reference.